Applications : admissions ratio

Overview

Imperial’s Faculty of Medicine is one of the largest in Europe, with medical campuses across north and west London and partnerships with a wide range of NHS Trusts, hospitals and clinics.

This access to a very large and diverse patient population enables you to gain clinical experience from your very first term, with placements carefully selected to give you a broad and balanced clinical learning experience.

Our teaching is enriched by our internationally competitive research and clinical expertise, so you’ll be learning at the very cutting edge of the subject. We deliver the course through a range of innovative and traditional teaching methods, including lectures, small group teaching, computer workshops, laboratory classes and problem-based learning.

Phase one of the course runs over three years. You will undertake an integrated programme covering the scientific basis of medicine and the foundations of clinical practice, with clinical experience from the start.

The third year consists of clinical attachments in hospitals and placements in a primary care setting, supported by structured teaching.

Phase two leads to the award of a BSc degree at the end of year four. We have many specialist pathways available, exposing you to research at the cutting edge of the field. You also undertake a supervised research project.

Phase three covers the final two years of the MBBS qualification. You rotate through a wide range of clinical specialties, such as obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry, general practice and paediatrics.

In the final years, you have the freedom to follow your own interests and undertake an eight-week elective, which you may complete in the UK or overseas.

Your final year will include a range of clinical attachments designed to prepare you for your first job as a doctor.

You will also have the opportunity to undertake an elective working alongside specialists from across the globe.

Exceptional students may be offered the opportunity to include a PhD as part of their course.

You will graduate with a primary medical qualification, which entitles you to provisional registration with the General Medical Council and license to practice in approved Foundation Year 1 posts (see Careers below).

Structure

Please note that the curriculum of this course is currently being reviewed as part of a College-wide process to introduce a standardised modular structure. As a result, the content and assessment structures of this course may change for your year of entry. We therefore recommend that you check this course page before finalising your application and after submitting it as we will aim to update this page as soon as any changes are ratified by the College.

Find out more about the limited circumstances in which we may need to make changes to or in relation to our courses, the type of changes we may make and how we will tell you about changes we have made.

Years 1 and 2

You will undertake an integrated programme covering the three main elements of the core course: Scientific Basis of Medicine; Doctor and Patient; and Clinical Experience.

Life Support Systems includes the cardiovascular, respiratory, alimentary and urinary systems, and the anatomy of the thorax, abdomen, pelvis and perineum.

Life Cycle and Regulatory Systems includes the reproduction, development and ageing, neuroscience and mental health, the endocrine and musculoskeletal systems, the anatomy of the head, neck, spine and limbs, as well as pharmacology and therapeutics.

Foundations of Clinical Practice includes communication skills, society and health, medical ethics and law, and epidemiology in practice. The initial element of clinical experience (the First Clinical Attachment), plus problem-based learning and personal and professional development, is also part of this theme and are taught in small groups.

Clinical Research and Innovation integrates your learning from the first two years with the development of research skills e.g. statistics, critical appraisal and data analysis. During this Theme you will undertake a research experience, collecting data that will be presented as a poster in a Festival of Science at the end of Year 2. Problem based learning is also part of this theme and taught in small groups in Year 1.

Clinical Experience

Clinical experience in the first year is provided by the First Clinical Attachment. During the module, you will pay a number of visits to a patient in their home environment and in a clinical setting, in order to explore the module topics:

Illness, health and disease;

The experience of health and social care; and

Living with a long term condition.

Patient visits are supplemented by small group work with practising GP’s or hospital consultants.

In the second year you will have your first hospital-based clinical attachment (Second Clinical Attachment). This will allow you to apply your knowledge and skills to the care of patients, focusing on the multidisciplinary team.

Year 3

Three 10-week clinical attachments in Medicine, Surgery & General Practice

We emphasise the acquisition of core skills and knowledge in general medicine (including cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, neurology, oncology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, haematology, rheumatology and medicine for the elderly), and general surgery (including gastrointestinal, breast and vascular surgery, urology and anaesthetics).

Core learning

You will take part in:

Medical or surgical takes

Clinical Methods and Skills sessions

Patient clerking

Consultant teaching

Problem-based learning

Other teaching: this will depend on the nature of the clinical programme of the attachment, but may include outpatient clinic teaching, theatre sessions, endoscopy sessions, and anaesthetics sessions.

Reading and electronic resources

Live Lecture and e-Lecture module: a continuation of systems and topics teaching Doctor, Patient and Disease course (3-weeks) which will integrate your clinical learning and introduce pathology.

Year 4

BSc degree

You will spend this year working towards the BSc by undertaking a series of modules and a supervised research project or specialist module in an area of particular scientific/medical interest, leading to one of the degrees below.

Year 5

There is a dedicated Pathology unit at the start of the fifth year which covers essential clinical pathology followed by a variety of clinical specialties:

Critical care

Dermatology

General Practice and Primary Health Care

Infectious Diseases/GUM/HIV

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Oncology and Palliative Care

Orthopaedics/Musculoskeletal Medicine

Paediatrics

Psychiatry

Radiology

Rheumatology

Teaching skills

Year 6

Seven three-week clinical attachments in:

Emergency Medicine

General Practice Student Assistantship

Cardiology

Neurology

Ears, Nose and Throat (ENT)

Ophthalmology

Renal Medicine

Two professional work experience attachments (one in medicine and one in surgery)

One specialty choice module

An eight-week elective period which may be spent in the UK or overseas

Five weeks of private study

A practical medicine course

An integrated course in Medicine, Surgery and Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics

Download the programme specification‌ [PDF] – this is the most up-to-date version available for this course. It may change for your year of entry. If/when changes to this course are approved by the College, we will update this document and the information on this course page.

Professional accreditation

This degree is professionally accredited by the General Medical Council.

Associateship

As well as your main Imperial degree, you will also receive the award of the Associateship of the Imperial College School of Medicine (AICSM).

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Our course is traditional in nature for the first and second years. You will spend most of your time in lectures, small group teaching, tutorials and the laboratory, and also use problem-based learning. You cover the fundamentals during this time, focusing on science in a clinical context.

Patient contact begins as early as the first term, and there is an emphasis on communication skills, which are key to becoming an effective practitioner. As you progress to the third year, you will turn your focus to clinical attachments, general medicine and surgery, and building up essential clinical skills.

Your clinical attachments will take place at teaching hospitals, district general hospitals and in primary care. The essential clinical skills are history taking from patients, physical examination and ward procedures.

Your fourth year is the BSc year, where you study graded modules while working toward a separate and additional award of BSc Medical Science. Following successful completion of the year, including examinations, you receive the BSc award in your chosen area.

You will spend the fifth and sixth years on clinical placement, including the opportunity to undertake ‘speciality rotations’, which are a variety of specialised placements aimed at widening knowledge of different areas of medicine. There is also a block of pathology clinical attachments, where your focus will be diagnosis of disease from organs, tissues and bodily fluids.

Assessment

Your performance will be assessed in all years. This is done through a combination of formal written and clinical examinations and continuous assessment.

Assessments contributing to the MBBS element of the programme will be pass/fail, while those which contribute to the BSc will be graded. In-course assessments and examinations relating to the science modules in Year 4 also contribute to the final classification for honours for the BSc element of the MBBS/BSc degree.

Medical Licensing Assessment

The General Medical Council (GMC) is introducing a Medical Licensing Assessment – the MLA - from 2022 to demonstrate that those who obtain registration with a licence to practise medicine in the UK meet a common threshold for safe practice.

Applicants should be aware that to obtain registration with a licence to practise, medical students will need to pass both parts of the MLA, pass university finals and demonstrate their fitness to practise.

The MLA will be in two parts: there will be a knowledge test, which will be set and run by the GMC, and an assessment, delivered by medical schools, that will evaluate students’ clinical and professional skills.

Student agreement

Due to the unique nature of Medicine courses, which emphasise clinical placements, all students will be asked to sign an agreement upon entry which sets out the responsibilities of both the College and the student.

The agreement complements the College’s current policies and procedures, promoting a coherent understanding between students and the Faculty as to what is expected from each and improving the student’s learning experience.

Imperial has partnership agreements with a number of healthcare providers inside and outside of London, and the list above is given as a guide and is not intended to be exhaustive.

The main clinical attachments or training away from South Kensington are in the third, fifth and sixth years:

Year 3 – three 8-10 week clinical attachments

Year 5 – dedicated pathology course and a range of clinical specialities

Year 6 – range of clinical attachments and elective period

Staff expertise

At Imperial, you will be taught by a range of teachers of all levels from Professors to PhD students, including some who undertake groundbreaking research and are regarded as experts in their field.

You may also experience peer teaching and be taught by specialists external to the College.

Compare this course

See how this course compares with similar courses at different institutions using the Unistats information below.

You can use the Unistats website to find out how this course compares in areas such as student satisfaction and what our graduates are doing six months after completing this course.

Entry requirements

We welcome students from all over the world and consider all applicants on an individual basis – see selection process below.

For advice on the requirements for the qualifications listed here please contact the Department (see Contact us).

We also accept a wide range of international qualifications. If the requirements for your qualifications are not listed here, please see our academic requirements by country page for guidance on which qualifications we accept.

A-levels

Minimum entry standards

Our minimum entry standard for 2020 entry is AAA overall, to include:

A in Biology

A in Chemistry

A in a third subject

The minimum entry requirements must be met in one examination sitting.

General Studies and Critical Thinking are not accepted.

Typical offer range

As a guide, here are the typical offers made in 2017-18 to at least 80% of applicants studying A-levels:

Three A-level offer: A*AA (including an A* in either Biology or Chemistry).

Practical endorsement (practical science assessment)

If you are made an offer you will be required to achieve a pass in the practical endorsement in all science subjects that form part of the offer.

International Baccalaureate

Minimum entry standards

The minimum entry requirements must be met in one examination sitting.

Typical offer range

39 points (grade 7 and 6 in Biology and Chemistry at higher level – grades in any order).

The IB typical offer for all other departments is based on the offer made to at least 80% of IB applicants in 2017–18. From 2019, Medicine intends to raise its typical IB offer from 38 to 39 points so this is not based on past applicant data.

Mathematics Higher Level for award in 2021

For entry in 2021, the Mathematics Analysis and Approaches or the Applications and Interpretation syllabi will be accepted at higher level with no preference.

Please note that for 2019 entry, there will be two test dates, one in September and one in October. Details for both dates can be found at Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing – September date and October date

Candidates who would like extenuating circumstances considered for their performance in BMAT must adhere to the procedure found here.

Invitations to an interview will be based on:

the content of your UCAS application

your performance in all three sections of BMAT

BMAT cut-off scores are calculated each year, as a result of ranked candidate BMAT scores versus number of expected interview sessions. As a result, the absolute BMAT cut-off changes each year. However, the BMAT cut-off scores from previous admissions cycles may be used as a guide.

For 2018 entry, the minimum scores required were:

a score of 4.1 in section 1

a score of 4.2 in section 2

a score of 2.5 and grade C in section 3

Selection process

Assessing your application

Admission to medicine at Imperial is highly competitive. We receive well over 2,400 applications for entry and interview about 850 candidates. We make approximately 600 offers.

We use a range of criteria to assess candidates. Candidates must meet the minimum academic requirements outlined in the section on entrance requirements and have high marks for the three sections of BMAT. No offers are made without applicants attending a competitive interview.

Candidates must:

have obtained or be predicted to obtain grades in A-levels, International or European Baccalaureate, or other acceptable qualifications that satisfy the School of Medicine’s academic criteria (see Entry requirements section, above)

sit the BMAT examination

apply by the deadline

If a candidate fulfils the minimum entry requirements and has scores in the top rankings for all three sections of the BMAT, the candidate's application form will be considered at the next stage of the selection process.

Selection panel

The selection panel comprises of teachers in undergraduate education with experience in the admissions process, who will decide whether to offer the candidate an interview. These decisions are ratified by one of the admissions tutors. The following criteria may be considered when assessing applications:

Contextual admissions information

Admissions Tutors consider all the evidence available during our rigorous selection process and the College flags key information providing assessors with a more complete picture of the educational and social circumstances relevant to the applicant.

Some applicants may be set lower offers and some more challenging ones. It is the College’s policy to not make offers below three A’s at A-level in relevant subjects, 38 IB points with at least a grade 6 at higher level in relevant subjects, or their equivalent.

A typical range of offers made by this Department in 2017 (encompassing at least 85% of applicants who studied A-level or IB) is shown above.

Interview

If selected, you will be required to attend a 20-minute interview. This will take place at theSouth Kensington Campus between December and March. The interview includes time for the panel to make its decision.

Normally interview panels consist of a chairperson, two other members of the selection panel, a senior medical student and frequently a lay observer.

There will also be an opportunity to take a tour of the South Kensington Campus organised by current medical students. This takes place toward the middle of the day, between our morning and afternoon panels.

The interview is not intended to be an intimidating experience and staff will try to put candidates at ease while evaluating the following:

Following the interview candidates should normally receive notification through UCAS track of the outcome of their application within three weeks of interview, although in some cases this can take longer.

Candidates who are rejected cannot be reconsidered for entry within the same cycle but may reapply the following year (if they obtain the relevant qualifications at the first attempt) without prejudice to the new application.

Resitting examinations

Resit examinations are not normally accepted as we expect candidates to achieve their qualifications in a single sitting. If you plan to undertake resit examinations, please contact the admissions team by 20 September to determine whether we would accept an application from you.

Deferred entry

The School of Medicine welcomes applications from school leavers who wish to take a gap year. You must state in your UCAS personal statement how you propose to spend your time. Deferred entry applications from overseas applicants are not normally accepted.

Transferring from another degree or medical school

The College does not accept students for transfer from other Imperial courses or from other institutions onto the course.

Mitigating Circumstances

Mitigating circumstances are unforeseen, unpreventable circumstances that significantly disrupt your academic performance, such as an illness or bereavement. If you feel you have mitigating circumstances that should be taken into consideration when we make decisions about your exam results, please contact us by Friday 13 July, ideally through your school or GP.

You must provide appropriate, supportive and independent evidence, not a letter from a family member or friend. The evidence must explain:

what the circumstance is

exactly how it affected you in relation to your studies/assessment

precisely when it occurred (i.e. identifying which assessments were affected)

It is essential that you apply for mitigating circumstances as soon as you are aware of the problem. Late claims will not be considered without clear supporting evidence of why an application was not made on or before the deadline.

Health and age requirements (all applicants)

All candidates offered a place must complete a health assessment with the College’s Occupational Health Service. You will be sent a confidential health questionnaire along with your offer. You should complete this and return it to the Occupational Health Service as soon as possible.

The primary aim of the assessment is to learn about any health problems or disabilities you may have which may require special support, so that we can plan for this before you begin your course.

We are also required by the General Medical Council (GMC) to ensure that you are not affected by a condition that would make it impossible for you to acquire the skills necessary to qualify and work safely as a doctor before accepting you onto the course.

You can read the GMC requirements in their booklet Outcomes for Graduates.

The School of Medicine welcomes applications from candidates with disabilities and, wherever possible, seeks to provide any extra support that may be necessary. Most disabilities or health problems, even if substantial, can be accommodated.

If you have a disability or health problem that you think may affect your fitness to practise, or which you think may be difficult to accommodate, then you can contact the College Occupational Health Physician for advice, in confidence, before applying.

Age restriction

You must be 18 years of age by the time you would start this course.

Vaccinations for medical school

If you are offered a place, you will need to be immunised against a range of infections to meet health and safety standards necessary for work with patients. You will be sent details of the vaccination programme along with your offer. As soon as you receive this information you should arrange with your doctor or a health clinic to begin this programme, as it can take eight months to complete.

Blood-borne infections

Chronic viral infections that are carried in the blood can be transmitted during surgery to patients from an infected healthcare worker. When you come to Imperial, in order to comply with NHS requirements, you will be offered blood tests to check that you are not infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and/or HIV, before you can be cleared for hands-on surgical experience.

If tested positive for these infections, you will be allowed to continue your course but not allowed to assist with or undertake surgery or other ‘exposure-prone’ procedures on patients. It will not prevent you from qualifying or practising as a doctor, except for the restriction on exposure-prone procedures.

Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)

You will need to successfully obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate before you can study the course and go out to placements.

The DBS is designed to ensure candidates are suited to working with vulnerable groups including children.

You will need to have completed an enhanced DBS check, and will be notified of the procedures should you receive an offer of a place on the course.

Overseas students

We accept a small number of overseas students into the Medicine course each year. If you are offering academic qualifications other than those listed above you must supply full details direct to our Admissions Team at medicine.ug.admissions@imperial.ac.uk.

Supplementary information should not be sent to UCAS.

You must be available for interview at the School of Medicine between January and April.

You are required to offer an accepted English Language qualification, please see the English language requirements for undergraduate applicants for a list of acceptable qualifications.

If you have not lived in the UK, you will be required to obtain a Certificate of Good Conduct from your government or police force in place of the DBS certificate.

English language requirement (all applicants)

All candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of English language proficiency for admission to the College.

Tuition fees and funding

We charge tuition fees for every year that your course lasts. The fee you will be charged is based on your fee status, which is determined by government regulations.

Tuition fees (Home and EU students)

2019 entry

£9,250 per year

The UK government has confirmed that EU students entering the university in 2019 will continue to pay the Home rate of tuition for the duration of their course.

Please note that the fee you pay may increase annually by an amount linked to inflation and approved by Parliament under the Student Fees (Inflation Index) Regulations 2006 – currently the measure of inflation used is the RPIX.

Government funding

The UK government has confirmed that access to government funding will remain unchanged for EU students entering the university in 2019 throughout the duration of their course. This includes access to the Tuition Fee Loan for EU students who have resided in the European Economic Area for at least three years prior to study, and access to the Maintenance Loan for EU students have been resident in the UK for at least five years.

Tuition fees (Overseas and Islands students)

2019 entry

£41,000 per year

The above fee applies to the academic year 2019–20 only as a guide.

The tuition fees for Overseas and Islands students are set by Imperial College London.

You should expect and budget for your tuition fee increasing each year by an inflationary amount. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2019 will apply to fees for the academic year 2019–2020.

Additional course costs

This section outlines any additional costs relevant to this course, which are not included in your tuition fees. It is possible that all, or only some, of these will be relevant to you.

Please note that the figures provided are usually based on the cost in the most recent academic year. These are likely to change from year to year. However, it is useful for you to be aware of the types of things you may have to pay for and their approximate cost to help you budget for student life at Imperial.

This section indicates whether any additional costs that apply are mandatory or optional. Mandatory costs are those that you will need to pay to fully participate in and complete your studies. Optional costs are not essential to your studies so you will be free to opt out of these.

Summary

Description

Mandatory/optional

Guide to cost

Clinical attachments

Mandatory

See below

Disclosure and Barring Service certificate (x2)

Mandatory

Provided

Equipment

Mandatory

Provided

Please review the information below for more information on the costs listed in the table.

Clinical attachments

You will complete mandatory clinical attachments in the third, fifth and sixth years of study.

Clinical attachments last between one and ten weeks, during which time you will be attached to a certain department within a hospital.

The clinical attachments will be in a hospital in the Greater London area. You will need to budget for travel to and from your placement. The location will vary according to clinical speciality. Depending on the distances involved, you may also need to budget for accommodation.

Some NHS Trusts offer over-night accommodation. This is usually on a case-by-case basis for clinical attachments that are further outside the centre of London.

Disclosure and Barring Service

You will need to successfully obtain a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate before you can enrol on this course. You will need to undergo a second DBS check before starting the final two years of clinical attachments.

The DBS checking process is designed to ensure candidates are suited to working with vulnerable groups such as children.

The School of Medicine covers the cost of your two DBS checks.

Equipment

You will be provided with the following equipment free of charge:

iPad/ tablet computer

Laboratory coat

Protective goggles

Stethoscope

The School of Medicine and/or NHS Trust will always provide free of charge any necessary personal protective equipment required for this course.

Final year elective

You are required to take part in an elective in your final year. You must have organised your elective by the end of January of your final year. The elective takes place in the elective period, which begins in April of that year.

You can choose to complete your elective in the UK or abroad. Locations are approved following a risk assessment, which considers factors including the nature of the elective, health risks, accommodation and travel.

You will need to budget for the travel and accommodation costs associated with this final-year elective.

Accommodation and living costs

Living costs, including accommodation, are not included in your tuition fees.

Over 90 per cent of Imperial undergraduates choose to live in our halls of residence in their first year. You can compare costs across our different accommodation options on our Accommodation website.

A rough guide to what you might expect to spend to live in reasonable comfort in London is available on our Fees and Funding website.

Careers

Graduates from the School of Medicine enter a wide and diverse range of careers, including medical practice, biomedical research, the pharmaceutical industry, scientific journalism and healthcare management.

Achieving an MBBS degree from Imperial provides you with a primary medical qualification (PMQ). Holding a PMQ entitles you to provisional registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) and license to practise in approved Foundation Year 1 posts, subject only to acceptance by the GMC that there are no fitness to practise concerns that need consideration.

You will need to apply for a Foundation Year 1 post during the final year of your undergraduate course through the UK Foundation Programme Office selection scheme, which allocates these posts on a competitive basis. So far, all suitably qualified UK graduates have found a place on the Foundation Year 1 programme, but this cannot be guaranteed.

On successful completion of the Foundation Year 1 programme you will be eligible to apply for full registration with the GMC before entering Foundation Year 2. Doctors need full registration with a license to practise for unsupervised medical practise in the NHS or UK private practice*.

* This information is correct as of December 2018 but please be aware that regulations in this area are subject to change.

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Further information

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